Tag Archives: Christianity

Post navigation

I’ve been writing a post on a related topic for a few weeks now. It keeps growing and changing, so in the meantime, I’ll share this one, which I’m pretty sure will be short and to the point. Maybe.

Yesterday, more than 700 Muslims were killed in a stampede during their pilgrimage to Mecca. It seems that many people thought these deaths should be celebrated. This baffles me because most of the people who feel this way probably claim to be Christians.

Now, I don’t have a degree in Jesusology, but I can read, and I’m considered fairly intelligent, even by those who don’t agree with everything I say (or write), so I’m going to throw a couple of things out here. Continue reading →

I post my own stuff, but I curate a lot of posts on my Facebook fan pages and on Twitter. Simply because of the nature of social media, I know that not everyone who follows me will see everything I post. Some of those links are pretty popular with my readers, though, which leads me to believe that some of the people who missed out the first time might like another chance.

Hootsuite conveniently already sends me a weekly report of my most clicked links. Obviously, clicking on a link doesn’t mean the reader enjoyed the article, but I try not to post click-bait headlines, so there is at least some interest there. So we’ll give this a shot. Let me know what you think. I’ll share my top ten links from the previous week, just in case you missed them the first time around.

(I’m not David Letterman. Because these come to me in order, that’s how you’ll get them.) Continue reading →

So, I started thinking about this as a Christian, but I realized that it applies to all aspects of life: health, food, exercise, recycling, environment, parenting, and those are just the subjects that are close to my heart and/or I’m working on. Pick the subjects you’re passionate about that you feel as if no one else cares about. (Tip: They do.)

I know I’m just as bad as everyone else. It’s a human condition. We are super-convinced that everything we know is right, so if someone is doing something differently, they must be doing it wrong.

Self-help is an $11 billion industry. We love to read and hear advice — when we want to. Actually following that advice is another story all together. From my own experience as an advisee and my observations as an advisor, very few of us follow the advice we’re given, even when it’s solicited. It’s pretty obvious that unsolicited advice is going in one ear and out the other.

This is only second year to choose a word to focus on for the year. My word for 2013 was Freedom. Life is always a work in progress, but having come nearly full circle, I can say that I’ve come a long way toward my own freedom in so many areas of my life. I’m happy. 🙂

I’ve been thinking and praying about my 2014 word for weeks. I thought about love or kindness, not just toward others, but toward myself, as well. Continue reading →

Excerpt

I understand about fear. I struggled with it for a very, very long time. What frustrates and saddens me is
seeing the Church, the body and bride of Christ, being squashed under volumes of rules and regulations that God
never intended, Jesus didn’t preach, and the Holy Spirit doesn’t want us bound by. (The early Church agreed that the
only rules for the Gentiles who were being saved was not to drink the blood of animals sacrificed to idols, and not to
engage in sexual immorality. Acts 15:29) Church leaders don’t trust that God Himself can teach a follower the
difference between having a drink and practicing drunkenness. They don’t trust that God can shine light through the
darkest movie to either point out truths within, or educate and forewarn us of the evil in the world. They either
blame everything on the devil or pretend he doesn’t exist, but they certainly don’t teach Christians how to overcome
him and live a life of freedom — in this world — that makes Satan want to throw things at the nearest gate to hell. Continue reading →

I’ve seen several blog posts recently about purity pledges and girls feeling pressured and stressed out about waiting until marriage to have sex. I never led a wild party lifestyle, but I wasn’t a virgin when I married, and trust me when I say, even if you’re not a Christian, it’s a lot less stressful to not have sex until you’re in a committed relationship. Not only do you not have the drama of the current hook-up, but you bring much less baggage into future relationships. Also, you knock your chances of having a “baby daddy” or “baby mama” way down.

But whether it’s about sex, the movies you watch, or the language you use, if you’re doing it (or not doing it) because someone told you “this is the way it should be”, then the results won’t be long-lasting, and it’s pointless. Continue reading →

For several years, I was embarrassed to say I was a Christian. Not because I was ashamed of God, Jesus, or my own convictions, but because of the way other Christians acted. I’m not talking about obviously-not-Christian groups such as the Westboro group; even someone with a minimal knowledge of the Christian faith would know that group is more intent on spreading hate than God’s love. No, I’m talking about the well-intentioned, usually loving, Christian-next-door. However, I recently realized that if some of us don’t stand up and say something, people are going to continue to be pushed away from God and His love. We all know of Christians who have left the church because they faced too much judgement and harsh advice and not enough grace, love, forgiveness, and closed mouths. And I have to wonder how many have been on the ledge, ready to jump into a life with God, but the person who could have held their hand and mentored them in their new journey instead pushed them away. God is big enough to handle our stupidity, so there will be someone else later to help, but why should that be necessary?

So after much prayer, scripture hunting (to ensure that the Bible actually says what I think it says), and consulting with other Christians, I’ve compiled a list of stupid things Christians say. These are in no particular order. Join me as I invite Christians to open their hearts more and their mouths less. Continue reading →